Over The Barrel | The top South African red wines according to the 2015 Platter Guide

The 2015 edition of Platter's Guide by Diners Club was launched at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel 28 October. Over 200 guests were eager to discover which wines achieved five star statuses, as well as to celebrate the white and red wine of the year and the wine estate taking the ultimate accolade as the Platter’s South African winery of the year for 2015.

The John Platter Guide has always been referred to as the “go to guide” for South African wines, but the 2015 edition seems to have come under a bit of scrutiny from wine critics and makers alike.

The main concern is that the initial tasting is not blind. Then, after the top wines are separated from the rest they are tasted blind to get a five star status.

Publisher of Platter’s, Jean-Pierre Rossouw told wine.co.za:

“Platter’s is different in that it is a wine guide – and not a competition per se. Our expert tasters initially assess the wines sighted, to assist learning as much as possible about the intent of the producer and the wine’s back-story, as well as vital details such as site and climate. But when it comes to the five star tasting, we shift to a blind tasting format as we are then comparing wines against each other within categories.”

So sighted first, then blind for the top ones. One of biggest producers of wine in South Africa, KWV, opposes this method so strongly that it has boycotted their wines from entering into the guide. They might not be the only one.

It also excludes restaurants and accommodation which featured in past editions which many feel has taken away the character of the guide.

Add to this the fact that Diners Club (owner of Platter’s Guide) Director Reg Lascaris has a vested interest in five star wine producer, Boekenhoutskloof, it does seem from this side of the Sahara that there might be some serious conflicts of interest here.

Be that as it may, the John Platter Guide is a South African stalwart and below is a breakdown of the winners followed by the top rated red wines, by varietal, from the 2015 edition.

Winery of the year Eben Sadie Family wines (This is the 2nd time Eben has won the award. The first time being in 2010)